And Then There Were None
by svvya
Summary: Pretty much Agatha Christie's novel into Furuba. Nine of the Sohmas and Tohru are invited to an island for a "friendly" get together, but things aren't as they seem. Is there a killer among them? They'll have to uncover who it is before it's too late.
1. Introduction

_Okay, so this is based off of Agatha Christie's book And Then There Were None. You'll have to figure out who the killer is and all that. For those of you who have read the actual book, it won't be the exact same- Otherwise that would give away the killer! Also, if you would rather not read about characters dying, then pass this story up, because the whole concept of And Then There Were Noneis the guests getting picked off one by one (You'll see what I mean if you don't already know) so read at your own risk- Your favorite character might be on the chopping block. Sorry the intro (this) is a little crappy, but I tried. I hope I make this mysterious enough so it keep you guessing, and I hope you enjoy it! _

"Kyo-kun! Yuki-kun! Shigure-san! We all got mail!" Tohru Honda's cheery voice broke through the dull morning silence of the breakfast table, and the young brunette girl entered the room holding four envelopes.

"All of us?" Yuki Sohma looked up blearily from his bowl of cereal as Tohru sat down next to him. He had just woken up and was a little (Or, in other words, very) detached from reality.

"Sissy boy," Kyo snorted under his breath. Tohru placed an envelope in front of him and handed one to Yuki and Shigure Sohma. "It's nine o' clock on a Saturday- You should have woken up hours-" Kyo twitched in his seat and let out another curse that was probably inappropriate for Tohru's innocent ears. "Fight me with your fists if you want to fight! Don't kick under the damn table!" Kyo ducked under the table to rub his injured leg and a few seconds later there was third swear and a crash. Kyo reappeared and lunged across the table at Yuki, a bruise already showing under his eye where he had been kicked him the second time.

"Don't make me separate you two," Shigure said with a laugh as he opened his letter. "What's gotten you in such a mood, Kyon? Sit back down, you're getting butter all over yourself." Tohru held back a giggle and looked over at Kyo, he was leaning right in the butter dish while trying to attack Yuki.

"Yeah, Kyon," Yuki joined in, going back to his cereal like no one was intending to kill him, "what's your problem?"

"Don't call me that." Kyo sat back down and wiped ineffectively at his shirt with a napkin. "And that Rat is the one who started it, not me." He glowered at Yuki and ripped his own envelope open, as did "that Rat."

"This is strange..." Four voices said at almost the exact same time. And, again simultaneously, the group began to read their letters out loud. Each was exactly the same, save for the greeting.

_"Dear Ms. Tohru Honda..."_

_"Dear Mr. Yuki Sohma..."_

_"Dear Mr. Kyo Sohma..."_

_"Dear Mr. Shigure Sohma..."_

_--_

Isuzu "Rin" Sohma looked up from the strange letter in her hand at the sound of a knock on the door. "Come in," she called, smiling when the door swung open and she saw who was on the other side.

"Hey," Haru Sohma said. He walked inside, shut the door behind him, sat next to Rin on her bed and gave her a quick kiss. "When you called you said you had a weird letter, right?" Rin nodded, she had wanted to show it to Haru and see what he thought of it. "Well, I got one, too." He pulled a folded piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her, while she handed hers to him.

They were the exact same.

_"Dear Ms. Isuzu Sohma..."_

_"Dear Mr. Hatsuharu Sohma..."_

_--_

Ritsu Sohma was just going to the store, honest. He hadn't meant to get mail, and hadn't asked anyone to go to the trouble of writing him a letter. But when the monkey saw the little red flag up on his mailbox, he couldn't help but drop his grocery bags in surprise and rush over to the mailbox.

"I'm sorry to the mailman for having to go out of his way to deliver this letter, and I'm sorry to whoever wrote it for wasting their time on me, and I'm sorry for dropping the food I bought on the ground and maybe ruining it, and..." His apologies continued while he ripped open the letter and read:

_"Dear Mr. Ritsu Sohma..."_

_--_

"Is Akito feeling well enough to have visitors?"

"Huh?" Kureno Sohma's brow unfurrowed as he looked up from a piece of paper in his hand. "Oh, yes, but didn't you just come for his check-up yesterday?"

Hatori Sohma nodded, but then held up an unopened envelope with Akito's name printed on the front. "This was sent to my office by mistake, but I received a letter just like it- One with no return address, I mean."

Kureno held up the paper he had been reading before Hatori arrived. "I got one like that today, too." They went inside and found Akito Sohma sitting by his (or rather, her) window, staring at something it seemed only she could see.

"Akito, I have a letter for you," Hatori said, walking over to her and holding it out to her.

"Who is it from?" She asked sharply.

Hatori held back a sigh and said, "I don't know, there was no return address."

Akito took the letter, opened and read it, and said, "What's this supposed to mean?"

Hatori scanned it over her shoulder and said with some surprise, "That's what my letter said, too."

_"Dear Mr. Hatori Sohma..."_

_"Dear Mr. Kureno Sohma..."_

_"Dear Mr. Akito Sohma..."_

_--_

The ten read the exact same letter, and the ten tried to figure how to respond...

_You and nine other guests are cordially invited to Indian Island in Devon county (not the one in England!) for a get together and reunion of sorts with the Sohmas I personally know. I expect the younger of you don't remember me, but every few summers you would all spend a few weeks in the mansion with me. I thought since it has been so long we should all meet up again. Enclosed are directions to Devon. A man named Mr. Ryoa will ferry you to the island and we can all spend a nice weekend together on the twelfth if you are all up to it._

_Sincerely,_

_Miss Terri-_The signature was followed by an illegible last name (they just assumed it was Sohma), and the nine Sohma's, while each of them vaguely remembered Indian Island, ("Didn't we stop going to that island after the rabbit was born?" Akito asked Hatori, and she got an affirmative answer.) tried to remember who Terri was. ("She was the American maid, right?" Was what Shigure suggested.)

But Tohru continued reading: On her letter there was a post script.

_P.S. Ms. Honda, I know you must think I'm strange and rude by sending this to you, but I've heard so many nice things about you that I want extend this invitation to you, also._

A mansion? She was invited to a mansion? That was too kind of this unknown Sohma... But Tohru was invited, so if everyone else was planning on going it wouldn't hurt for her to tag along, would it?

_Ten little Indian boys..._ Had no idea what they were getting themselves into.


	2. Ten Little Indians

_Yay! Here's the first real chapter :D Yes I don't know about boats, and yes I pawned my ignorance off onto the characters (sorry Sohmas and Tohru!). None of which I own. Or ever will own... Also, sorry this chapter is a bit boring until the end (I think anyway) but there has to be one of those long, set-the-mood type ones..._

_--_

**Ten little Indians...**

Tohru stood on the deck of a small fishing boat and looked around at everything eagerly, but, instead of seeing anything, just ended up making everything spin in front of her eyes.

"Be careful," Kyo said with a laugh, bonking her playfully on the head, "you'll make yourself dizzy. What's so special about this place, anyway? It's just a gloomy little town." And it was. It was cloudy, foggy, and the town of Devon itself was tiny, but that didn't stop Tohru from getting so excited that she was almost Momiji-like.

"This is so nice of Terri-san to invite us. Is she nice? What's the island like?" All the Sohmas had talked when they arrived in Devon, but none of them could remember this Terri person. Kureno said he remembered some sort of American maid (and she had to be American, since she used Ms. and Mr. in place of -san) but couldn't remember anything about her.

"The island is nice," Yuki said for what must have been the third time that hour. "It's big, and we'll be the only ones on the island, since it's private property."

"I just can't remember a Terri-san..." Hatori mused quietly, lighting a cigarette. "I think at least one of us would have remembered her, and if she is a maid like we think, then how did she get to own the property?" He shook his head and moved his arm to take a drag of his cigarette, but before he could...

"Tori! Don't you know those things'll kill you?!" Shigure grabbed the cancer stick out of Hatori's hand and took a drag of it himself. The angry response Hatori had been ready to say was interrupted by a taxi pulling up in front of the dock the boat was tied to. Ritsu stepped out of the obnoxiously yellow car and started to walk toward the boat, but his progress was hampered by the heavy suitcase he was carrying.

"Here, let me help you!" Tohru, of course, ran to help Ritsu carry his suitcase to the boat, and with only a little difficulty (mostly including Ritsu apologizing for being late, and apologizing for making Tohru waste strength by helping him) they managed and the ten were all on board at last.

Ryoa-san, the owner of the fishing boat, had noticed all of the commotion from under the deck where he was waiting for the last member of the Sohma's party (Ritsu) to arrive. He looked at the ten and asked in a gruff voice, "Is everyone ready to go?" They all nodded, except for Akito- She was looking at everyone with a Why_ Am_ I_ Here With _These_ People_ kind of look.

Ryoa did all the necessary things to get ready to sail (things that Tohru and the Sohmas didn't have the first clue about) and soon they were on their way to the island.

"Ritsu, what took you so long to get here?" Shigure asked, knowing full well what was about to happen.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to be late! I didn't know where to tell the taxi driver to go, and I kept remembering things at home I forgot, and..."

"You are a horrible person, Sensei," Haru said with a shake of his head. He and Rin were watching Ritsu, who seemed to be debating throwing himself off the side of the boat, and leaning up against the railing.

"He knows I'm joking. Right, Ritchan? You're not going to kill yourself." Shigure ambled over to him and put an arm around his shoulder.

"Maybe it would be better if I did," Ritsu sniffled, getting only a roll of the eyes from most people.

"No! Don't!" Tohru exclaimed, almost at the exact same time Akito snapped:

"You're not going to die, so be quiet." She couldn't take his yelling anymore, and he obviously wasn't going to die any time soon.

Ritsu calmed down just as Indian Island came into view. It might have been the gloomy weather, but the island seemed... Foreboding in a way. It was rock cliffs all around, except for a small, clear hill that sloped down to meet the water. The house itself was visible, too, but it didn't look much better. The black walls were big and awkward looking, like they might collapse in at any time, and they looked run down and old (which they were). The windows looked surprisingly new and clean, and everyone wondered again, What kind of person owned that house?

Everyone (again, Akito was the exception) thanked Ryoa as they carefully got off the boat with their suitcases. "I'd plan on staying a few extra days here, if I were you," the old fisherman said as he prepared to go back to the mainland, "there's a storm coming. A big one. I can feel it in my bones. Someone with a strange American name paid me to take you ten out here, but no one could pay me enough to brave coming back to this island in a storm."

Before anyone could protest or argue, he was gone.

"Well, that sucks," Rin said as the party trudged their way up the hill to the house. "This Terri person better not mind us all staying here."

"The house will be big enough for all of us, I'm sure," Kureno commented.

"Is it just me, or is it... Different here?" Kyo couldn't remember the island very well, but he remembered it being brighter, and less desolate looking. There were hardly any trees anywhere, and the few flowers growing along the path they were following looked dead.

"Gloomier," Yuki agreed with a nod and an apprehensive look around.

"There's the house!" Tohru, even though the place was (much) different than she imagined, she was still excited when they reached the top of the hill and the door was only a few yards away.

_Knock... Knock... Knock-knock-knock-knock-kno-_"Stop it." Hatori grabbed Shigure's hand to stop it from knocking on the door another time. "No one's going to answer, just see if the door is open."

"But no one's answering and I'm _really_hungry." The truth was, they all wanted something to eat, but Shigure was the only one who would whine about it. Shigure sighed dramatically and turned the handle. The door was unlocked, so he pushed it open and stepped inside. "Hello?" He called, but no one answered. "Hey! A note!" With the air of someone who had just found a key clue to a mystery, Shigure picked up a sheet of paper on a table by the door as Haru flicked on a light switch, illuminating the room. Shigure read the note out loud:

"_Terribly sorry, but if you're reading this it means I'm not back from my business trip yet. On the back of this paper is a diagram of where everyone's room should be. Feel free to make yourselves at home. There is pleanty of food in the pantry (pointed out in the diagram) and I should be back by tomorrow morning_."

"I guess we're on our own tonight, but I could make dinner," Tohru offered almost immediately, and everyone else agreed. After all, who would want to make dinner for ten people besides Tohru?

"I can take your stuff up to your room, then." Kyo took her backpack while Shigure made another comment about being hungry, Tohru set out to find the kitchen.

As an afterthought, Rin called out to her, "Don't get lost!" She shook her head. "That's something that girl would do."

--

**Went out to dine...**

"Dinner's ready!" Tohru came as the savior of an awkward silence in the parlor. It was strange for any of the family members (except for Kureno, maybe) to be in the same room with Akito without her making snide remarks or getting violent, but she was being quiet. After they settled into their rooms, they all met in the lounge to wait for dinner.

Dinner, if anything, was more awkward than before hand had been. Rin was on the edge of her seat, trying to be as far away from Akito as possible (who she had the misfortune to sit next to)- Her hair was still short- a memory of last time they had "gotten together." Akito was taking a sick sort of pleasure out of her discomfort and was smirking slightly. Yuki and Kyo were glaring at each other from across the table, as was Shigure at Kureno- Who still didn't understand why Shigure hated him so much. Ritsu was constantly dropping things, Hatori and Haru were silent, and Tohru could feel the tension in the air.

Finally, it seemed, dinner was over and the ten moved back to the lounge. They all sat silently, staring at each other, thinking that it was really strange and awkward to be sitting in the house of a person they had no memory of. Tohru was again the one who broke the silence, "Um, would anyone like some tea?"

They agreed, and Tohru hurried out of the room. She wouldn't say it, but she really just suggested tea to give herself something to do. The atmosphere was worse than when she had been in between Mayuko-san and Shigure-san at her parent-teacher meeting. She breathed a soft sigh of relief when the other nine were out of sight, and hoped that their host would arrive soon.

"Hey, I have one of those in my room." Haru spoke for the first time since when he asked Hatori to pass the salt at dinner. He was pointing at a plaque hanging above the fireplace with a rhyme engraved on it. In fact, everyone had one in their room, too. "It's not exactly happy."

_Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; _

_One choked his little self and then there were nine. _

_Nine little Indian boys sat up very late; _

_One overslept himself and then there were eight. _

_Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon; _

_One said he'd stay there and then there were seven. _

_Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks; _

_One chopped himself in halves and then there were six. _

_Six little Indian boys playing with a hive; _

_A bumblebee stung one and then there were five. _

_Five little Indian boys going in for law, _

_One got in Chancery and then there were four. _

_Four little Indian boys going out to sea; _

_A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. _

_Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo; _

_A big bear hugged one and then there were two. _

_Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun; _

_On got frizzled up and then there was one. _

_One little Indian boy left all alone; _

_He went and hanged himself and then there were none._

"Morbid," Hatori agreed with a small frown. They sunk into silence again, almost everyone was staring at the poem, all except Kyo, who was messing with something behind his chair.

"Here's the tea!" Tohru's voice was apprehensive as she re-entered the room holding a tray of tea.

"Let me help you with that, Honda-san." Yuki smiled and hurried to help Tohru, who was about to drop the tray. "Maybe it would have been better to let everyone pour their own tea?" He suggested as tea spilled out of the cups when he took the tray from her.

"Oh..." Tohru said after a moment, frowning- The sensible thing to do had occured to her too late- As usual.

"_Guilty-"_A shrill, female voice erupted from somewhere behind Kyo's chair. He jumped and swore, turning around._"You're all guilty, horrible monsters. Meddlers, deceivers, twisted, sadistic monsters- Every one of you deserves to-"_ The voice stopped and Kyo turned back around, holding a CD in his hand.

"Wh-What was that?" Tohru asked. Her eyes were wide and she was staring at Kyo. In fact, everyone was staring at Kyo.

"Hey- I didn't- I just put this CD in the CD player," he defended himself angrily. "I thought it was for us since it was just sitting- Hey, did Ritsu faint?"

Everyone was now looking at Ritsu who was slumped over in his chair. Hatori stood up. "Will someone get a glass of water?" The doctor asked as he walked over to Ritsu.

Shigure did a mock salute and ran out of the room. "Ritsu?" Hatori tapped Ritsu on the shoulder and when he didn't stir, Hatori did it again. Frowning, Hatori took his pulse and then practically jumped away from him. "My God," He said, eyes wide, "he's dead."

**One choked his little self and then there were nine...**

_--_

_Yeah, the cause of death will become apparant in the next chapter, so hold tight until then!_


	3. Nine Little Indians

_Sorry this took so long!! But the end of the school year was insane! Now, however, I'll have plenty of time to update and should have this finished sometime soon! Enjoy!_

--

**Nine Little Indians...**

Silence fell over the room. No one moved or, so it seemed, breathed. Everyone was looking at Hatori in disbelief. They were all waiting for him to yell, "Just kidding!" or "April Fools!" A joke in bad taste would have been better than Ritsu actually being dead.

"Toriii! I've got the water! Is Ritsu awake yet?" Shigure bounded back into the room holding a glass half full of water. His joking smile faded when Hatori didn't answer him and after he looked at everyone's faces. "What's the matter?"

Hatori opened his mouth, closed it, and took a deep breath. How was this even explainable? Finally, he just said, "Ritsu's dead."

The glass of water dropped from Shigure's hand and fell to the floor with a crash. The loud noise made everyone jump and in turn made everyone jump back into action.

"He's _dead_?"

"How the hell would he die? Did he choke?"

"I-I'll clean up that glass."

"He always threatened to kill himself, but I never thought he was serious."

Tohru jumped up and ran out of the room to get a towel to clean up the spilled water, and Hatori grabbed Ritsu's glass. He sniffed it and said, "This smells like it was spiked with something."

"So he poisoned himself?" All heads turned toward Akito. She actually looked and sounded upset.

Hatori nodded slowly and said quietly, like he had forgotten other people were listening, "He must have..."

Tohru had re-arrived and was busily cleaning up the glass and water, looking more upset than any of the Sohmas, except perhaps Akito. Maybe it would be an overstatement to say that the other Sohma's felt only shock, but let's be fair; Ritsu wasn't well liked in the family. He was exhausting to be around, and more often than not, he was a nuisance, even when he tried not to be. He wasn't even really close to any of the other Zodiac, always trying to avoid them in case he would be an inconvenience. Really it was a surprise that Akito seemed upset. Wasn't it just earlier that (s)he was snapping at him?

Hatori gingerly raised Ritsu up to a sitting position and there was a collective gasp. His face was purple and swollen, he had undoubtedly choked to death. "When did he even have time to put poison in his drink?" Haru was frowning and looking at Ritsu.

"We were all distracted," Rin pointed out, turning her gaze to Kyo.

"Hey, don't look at me. It wasn't like we were watching him to make sure he didn't kill himself." The Cat glared at Rin. "He had plenty of time to do it whenever."

"Eloquent explination," Akito said dryly, standing up and making her exit, Kureno following close behind.

"Akito," Kureno fell in step with her and put a hand on her shoulder, "what's wrong? I know Ritsu was family, but you seem very upset is there-"

"The bond," She snapped, shrugging his hand away and speeding up. "We're all supposed to be connected through a bond, but I didn't even notice when he died. When _your_ curse broke I could tell, but when the Monkey _died_, I couldn't feel a thing. It's weakening..."

--

**Stayed Up Very Late...**

Back in the sitting room there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"So... What are we going to do with the body?" Shigure was standing in front of Ritsu. Now that the shock had worn off, most of the remaining guests were starting to think practically.

...Most... "Honda-san, you can go to bed if you're feeling sick. We can take care of things." Tohru was as white as a sheet- Ritsu might have been pleased to know someone actually cared about him.

Tohru nodded and hurried away, while Hatori and Shigure decided to carry Ritsu up to his room. The last four teens exchanged glances and said at the same time, "I'm going to bed."

"Yuki," Haru reminded as they made their way to their respective bedrooms, "don't forget to take your medicine. You're asthma has been acting up lately and you wouldn't want to have an attack."

"Oh, right, thanks." Yuki nodded. With all the commotion he would have completely forgotten. "Night," he told the others, and Haru blew him a kiss. With a roll of his eyes, Yuki reached his bedroom first and got ready for bed.

--

"God, what a night," Shigure mumbled stretching and exiting (ex)Ritsu's room with Hatori. "It's a good thing Ayaa isn't here, he was pretty fond of that spazz."

Hatori nodded solemnly. "He was busy with orders from a bride-to-be, right? A wedding dress and bride's maids dresses or something?"

Shigure snickered, "Yeah, but I think they must not have realized where they were going. Oh well, Ayaa probably thinks he's missing something fun right now. Wouldn't he be surprised." He let out a humorless laugh, and then yawned. "Well, it's getting pretty late, I'll see you tomorrow. Maybe the storm will clear up by then."

--

**One Overslept Himself...**

"Breakfast is served!" Tohru was trying her best to be cheerful that morning, but it was hard with the way everyone was acting. They all seemed... Distracted somehow.

"Did anyone else have a weird dream last night?" Haru picked at his eggs Tohru set down in front of him listlessly, trying to remember what it had been.

"I did."

"Me too."

"That's weird, so did I."

And so on. In fact, every possessed member of the Zodiac had the same dream, but the details were a little fuzzy.

"I think it was something like..." Kyo trailed off, trying to figure out what he was going to say, and mumbling something about the damn rain making him so weak he forgot. "Oh, right, a snowstorm, and something was talking in it..."

"Right, and saying... Goodbye?" Rin tapped her fork against the table, thinking about who it could have been.

"Um... Sorry to interrupt, but where's Yuki-kun?" Tohru just realized that he was missing now that she served everyone and still had an empty plate.

"Sleeping in, as usual. He's such a weakling..." Kyo trailed off with a yawn and Tohru dashed off to Yuki's room to wake him up.

A few minutes passed of awkward silence, Tohru really was the only thing that kept the Sohmas from all killing each other.

"Wait, it was a Rat-"

"In a snowstorm-"

"Saying goodbye to his family-"

"Yuki!" Haru gasped just as a scream could be heard from the vicinity of Yuki's room. He ran out of the dining room with the others trailing behind him. He arrived in the room and found what could be expected, a sobbing Tohru, a still Yuki on the bed.

"Y-Yuki...?" Akito was deathly pale- She had felt this happen. She didn't know that's what it meant at first, but, after all, the Rat is the closest to God out of all the other Zodiac- Of course she felt it. The dream was a sign- she should have realized it right away.

Then, once again, all eyes turned to Kyo. He was laughing. It was quiet at first, but then it grew louder until it was almost to the point of hysteria. "My God," he said between laughs, "the Rat is dead. I beat him." He sank to the floor, laughing and holding his stomach.

One by one everyone tore their gaze away from Kyo and looked back at the other elephant in the room: Yuki. Hatori hesitantly walked over to the bed- This was bigger than Ritsu dying, so he felt like he had to be more delecate. Tohru and Haru were already in tears. But after a minute of examining the boy, he realized what he had to say wasn't going to make anything better. "I don't think this was an accident."

"What?" Kureno spoke for the first time all morning.

"It looks like it could have been an asthma attack, but he would have had a fit and thrashed around. His medicine should have prevented it, anyway. But the medicine also makes him tired, so he would have been easy to subdue. He definitely died from lack of air, but it looks like he hardly moved all night." It was true, his blankets weren't wrinkled, and he was in an unnatural position for sleeping- both arms were straight next to his side like someone had positioned him that way.

"So, what you're trying to say," Shigure said, his voice shaking, is that there's a killer on the island?"

**And Then There Were Eight...**

--

Sorry I killed him!! But, you've got to admit, the poem set him up. Oversleeping is something Yuki commonly does. See you next time...


	4. Eight Little Indians

_Just so you all know, I was cringing when Shigure "reveals" the host's name (that's why he is, too, ha-ha). I hate puns like that, and this one is extraordinarily lame. I apologize..._

_--_

**Eight Little Indians...**

"A _killer_? Are you sure this wasn't just an accident?" But Rin didn't sound so sure of herself as she questioned Hatori's logic.

Hatori nodded. "I'm almost positive."

"B-But who would want to Kill Yuki-kun?" Tohru wiped at her eyes ineffectively and tried to avoid looking at his bed.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyo was still laughing, but he managed to talk through the rising and increasingly hysterical laughter. 'We're invited to this island, we can't get off, and two of us are already dead. It's our mystery host." Now tears were rolling down his face as well, but not because he was upset.

But what he was saying wasn't sinking in. Everyone was looking at him, horrified. How could he be laughing still, or at all? There was a possibility... The other seven were thinking of it, even if later they would deny it... _Was it him? They hated each other..._

"_Get out_! Go in the other room until you can control yourself," Akito ordered, pointing to the door. Kyo, unable to disobey his God, rose unsteadily to his feet and stumbled to the door, no one offering to help him.

Kureno shut the door behind Kyo and a stunned silence fell over the room. "Do you think..." Shigure uncertainly looked around, and when no one replied he forged on, "I mean, Kyo hates Yuki he might've-"

"N-No! Kyo-kun would never do something like that!" Tohru sniffed.

"Kyo doesn't seem that stupid..." Rin agreed. "I mean, Ritsu just died. And he could have had any chance to kill Yuki, they lived together."

"But he has this "mystery host" thing to-" Shigure stopped short and his face twisted unpleasantly. "Oh, no way. That's too..." He let out a small groan and shook his head.

"What?" Akito demanded. The six watched him curiously, thinking he had realized something important.

"Kyo said our "mystery host." Do you get it?... Miss Terri, Mystery. Don't you think that's just too much of a coincidence in our present situation?"

"I think..." Kureno said after a pause, "you're right."

"That's weird..." Rin frowned and nodded. "You must be right, though..."

--

Meanwhile, the banished Cat was really trying to control himself. He didn't mean to start laughing, and he wanted to stop, but something was just sending him into hysterics. He wanted to stop- His stomach was aching, he knew his laughing must have been upsetting Tohru, and nothing was even funny. For God's sake, Yuki was _dead_.

Of course, Kyo knew why he was laughing. He was the Cat, Yuki was the Rat. They were natural enemies. The Curse was making him act like this. Still, he couldn't lie to himself, he wasn't sad that his long time rival was dead... He was happy, even, but not this happy.

He forced himself to take deep breaths until he was down to a small chuckle, and then managed to stand up. He had only managed to step outside of it before he collapsed. Finally, with one last breath, he was calm again. He wiped his face and rubbed his eyes, trying to stop himself from noticing the real, not-forced-by-the-Curse bit of happiness that he was feeling.

"I think we should go around the island and check for our mystery person." Kureno and Shigure exited the room first, Kureno trying to make suggestions, and Shigure looking at Kureno like he was something disgusting.

"Hm, maybe." Shigure said dissmissively. They passed Kyo and didn't even glance at him.

Neither did Akito and Hatori when they left.

Not Haru, not Rin, not even Tohru looked at him.

In fact, all of them were looking pointedly away from him. He couldn't really blame them, but still...

"Tohru!" He let her get almost around the corner before he decided to chase her. She turned and Rin and Haru stopped as well. When Kyo saw she was still crying, he felt horrible. Tohru was the only one he cared about upsetting, so if she was sad about the damn Rat dying... He could act like he wasn't happy and apologize.

"What do you want?" It was Rin who answered him. She looked angry- She was angry. Tohru was sobbing, and Haru was in shock over what had just happened, and now the guy who laughing through the whole ordeal wanted to talk. She felt like she had to protect those two right now, they always protected her, and Kyo was presently the biggest threat... To their emotional well being, at least (but as far as Rin was concerned, Kyo could be the one who killed Yuki).

"Suddenly I'm the enemy here?" Kyo glared at Rin and crossed the room so he was standing in front of her. "Do you think that I-"

"I-It's fine," Tohru said quickly. "Kyo won't do anything... Right?" She looked towards him, but wouldn't meet his eyes.

"No! Of course not." With one last, distrustful look, Rin put her arm around Haru and steered him away.

When they were gone, Kyo looked at Tohru and she looked past him, tears still rolling down her face and hiccuping or sniffling every so often. "Look, Tohru, I didn't kill Yuki. I was laughing because of the Curse. I know this isn't funny."

"I never thought you... Killed him, Kyo-kun," Tohru lied.

"Oh, good," He mumbled, looking away from her. "I hated Yuki, but I'm not happy he's dead," he lied.

She nodded and they both pretended to believe the other.

--

**Traveling in Devon...**

Shigure sighed dramatically and opened an umbrella, stepping out from the porch into the heavy rain. Hatori followed suit, opening his own umbrella and looking through the gloom. "We're going to need some flashlights."

"I have some," Kureno joined the two and handed them each a flashlight.

And they searched. And searched. The island wasn't very big, but their efforts were hampered by the rain. A few hours later, after looking by the water, the woodpile, the woods, ect., they gave up.

"Do you think they're in the house?"

Shigure gave Kureno an Are-You-Stupid look and shook his head. "The house is big, but we would have seen another person, I'm sure. Unless you're saying the killer is one of us." He added the last sentence quickly, catching Kureno off guard.

"No," he assured Shigure and Hatori who were both watching him intently. "No. I just thought that since we couldn't find anyone, and the house is big... Never mind."

They three started the walk back to the house and Hatori sighed, lighting a cigarette and holding it out of Shigure's reach, remembering the last time on the boat. "Hey, Shigure," he said when the house came into view, "do you think that's something?"

"Huh?" Shigure and Kureno stopped, but Hatori waved him on.

"It's fine, you can keep going. We'll yell if we need any help, but it's probably nothing." Kureno hesitated but then kept walking to the house.

"What was that?" Shigure asked, looking around for the "something" Hatori had mentioned.

"Oh, there's not really anything, but I have something to tell you I don't want anyone else to overhear."

"Oh, I already know about your undying love for me."

Hatori took a drag of the cigarette and didn't look amused. "You have to joke now? But, anyway, Yuki's medicine was switched with something else. It makes him drowsy, but not enough so he would let someone smother him."

Shigure frowned. This kept getting more and more complicated. "Why are you telling me?"

"Because some sleeping pills were missing from my medicine bag. So Kureno's theory of the killer being in the house, or even one of us, might not be too far fetched."

--

**One Said He'd Stay There...**

"I don't think we're ever going to get off this island," Rin sighed, staring off the porch into the ever falling rain.

Haru nodded slowly in agreement. He had been depressed since the morning, and of course he would be. Yuki was his best friend, and in a way his first love. But now he was inconsolable. At first he had been crying, but he was now just sitting on the porch and staring straight ahead. "Maybe it's better if we don't." He didn't want to have to think of going though every day without Yuki.

"Don't say that, Haru," Rin said softly, putting an arm around him and trying not to show how much that simple statement scared her. It wasn't like him to give up, and she was afraid he was going to.

--

"I'll make lunch." Kyo put an hand on Tohru's shoulder and she jumped.

"Oh. I-It's only you, Kyo-kun," she squeaked, taking a deep breath. She was being silly, she knew, but now, besides being upset, she was on edge, too. "Are you... Are you sure?" She had to be able to act like she was calm, collected, and getting over her grief, even if she wasn't. Just like when her mom died.

Kyo nodded and then assured her, "Don't worry, I won't poison the food." But she couldn't tell if he was actually assuring her, or if he was joking.

So Kyo went into the kitchen and Tohru wandered away, wondering what to do now.

"You, where's the Cat?" Akito stopped in front of Tohru and glared demandingly at her.

"Oh, Kyo-kun? He's making lunch." Akito had sure collected herself quickly, she was walking around with the same air of superiority she always had.

"You let him cook for us?! He probably just killed Yuki, and now you're letting him make us food?" Akito swept past Tohru in the direction of the kitchen, and Tohru protested feebly.

"I don't think he killed anyone..." It was no use, she was already gone.

--

Then, suddenly, something happened. Five people felt it, and knew they had to be at the porch. The truth was, they all knew what had happened before they got there, but didn't want to believe it. Tohru and Kureno heard the commotion and followed everyone.

"Haru! Oh, Haru!" Rin couldn't control herself. As much as she hated showing emotion in front of other people, when she saw Haru laying on the ground surrounded by a pool of blood, she ran over and kneeled down next to him, and started sobbing. No one went and comforted her, or even moved. Who would kill Haru? Who even had any motive?

"I guess Kureno was right," Shigure said softly, staring at the grim scene in front of him, "the killer has to be one of us."

**And Then There Were Seven...**

--

_Meh. I don't like the ending of this one very much, and I know I haven't made the deaths very hard to guess so far, but the next one should be unexpected... I think I'm still doing pretty well with hiding the identity of the killer, though... Tune in next time!_


	5. Seven Little Indians

All right, we're back in business! Due to some technical difficulties I haven't been able to write, but it's all good now. Also, the reason Kagura isn't there is because she's taking some summer classes at her college. I meant to write that, but didn't have an opportunity... Enjoy!

--

**Seven Little Indians...**

_Haru. Haru. Haru._That was all that went through Rin's mind as she sat at the dinner table with the other Sohmas and Tohru. Lunch was laid out, but no one felt like eating. Whether it was because they knew Kyo had cooked the meal, or because they were upset about Haru dying, it was hard to say

They were all talking, but as far as Rin was concerned, it was meaningless. Who cared who the killer was, or why everyone was being killed? All that mattered was that Haru was gone.

"Rin, weren't you with Haru the whole time?" A sharp voice brought Rin into the conversation for a moment. She looked at Shigure while she tried to comprehend what he said.

"I-I left to use the bathroom, and he said he would be fine while I was gone. I thought it would only be a second, and it was, but..." She stopped in case she started crying again. She had gotten control of herself, and didn't want to lose it in front of everyone again. She leaned against Tohru, who had her arm around her, as Shigure unsympathetically finished her sentence.

"It _was_too long... Hey, I'm just laying out the facts here," Shigure defended himself against Hatori's glare. Maybe he was being harsh, but they had to catch whoever the killer was. "And since the person who killed everyone, I'm sure, isn't going to just say, "Oh, that was me, sorry, guys," we have to figure it out ourselves."

"Um," Tohru started timidly, "if someone is... trying to kill us, does that mean Ritsu didn't commit suicide?" She looked unsure of herself but Shigure nodded.

"Probably. Who had a chance to, though?" They all thought and then people started to speak up.

"Hatori was sitting next to him."

"Shigure, you helped Tohru serve the drinks."

"Kyo and Rin were close enough to him that they could have put something in his drink when everyone was distracted by the CD."

"Tohru made the drinks." A confused look passed over Kureno's face when Rin and Kyo glared at him.

"You think _Tohru _is the _killer_?" Kyo fumed at him. Tohru looked pale when Kureno said her name, she was one of the ones who hadn't accused anyone.

"I was only saying..." He trailed off lamely, obviously it was only going to upset people if he mentioned Tohru's name.

"Okay, so it could have been a lot of people," Shigure quickly changed the subject. "It obviously could have been anyone when Yuki was killed, it was at night." But a few eyes were looking at Hatori, and some at Kyo. Hatori was the doctor, so he would have been able to switch Yuki's medicine with something else, and Kyo obviously had motive.

"What about Haru?" Rin spoke of the first time. "No one was near him."

"Maybe we should find out where everyone was," Shigure suggested. "I was checking the basement for the killer, before we knew it was one of us, of course."

Hatori said, "I was checking the upstairs."

Kureno was next. "I was looking in the back and side gardens."

Then Tohru. "I was going to the stairs when I saw everyone going outside."

Rin said her alibi again, "I already said I was going to the bathroom."

"I was making lunch," Kyo said, "But-"

"No you weren't!" Akito suddenly accused. "I went to make sure you weren't poisoning the food, but you weren't in the kitchen."

"I didn't hear you come in," Kyo accused back. "And I was about to say that I was in the pantry getting some rice."

"I was there, but left when I could tell something had happened. There's a door to the outside from the pantry."

"If I left, Kureno was in the gardens. He would have seen me."

"Unless he was killing someone." Shigure said softly.

"What?!" Kureno's eyes widened in surprise. "We never looked in the gardens, so I did."

"You would have been the closest to Haru. You were standing near Ritsu the first night, and you have a room close to Hatori's so you could have taken some drugs from his room to switch with Yuki's asthma medicine."

"Hatori could have just as easily dropped a, what was it, a brick?" That was the murder weapon. "From the top floor as I could have snuck onto the porch when Isuzu went to the bathroom."

"If she really did." Hatori spoke quietly, and everyone looked at him in surprise. "I'm only saying that Isuzu was in the most convinient position to-"

"Why would I kill Haru?!" Rin stood up, knocking her chair backward.

"I don't know why anyone would kill any of us. Tohru, you said you were on the ground floor. Did you see Isuzu?"

Tohru hesitated, but then shook her head.

"Well, I didn't see you either!" Rin shouted, going from thinking Tohru couldn't have committed the crime to blaming her in about a minute. She started storming toward the door, trying to keep herself from crying.

"Isuzu-san!" Tohru said quickly, looking panicked. "I didn't mean- I don't think you-"

"Rin. Stop," Shigure said over the sounds of Tohru trying to apologize. "I don't think anyone should be on their own right now- Not with everyone being under suspicion here."

Rin looked like she was going to argue, but then sat back down next to Tohru, not meeting her eyes.

The arguing had settled down and now the seven were just looking at each other, each with their own private thoughts.

_It was him, can't they all see? Who else had enough motive, and opportunity..._

_Only his twisted personality could come up with something like this. How can no one else tell?..._

_What's wrong with everyone? It's obvious that she's just acting. Listening to everything... No one saw her leave..._

_Can't they feel it? The only one who would do this is sitting right there... But maybe they _can't_ tell..._

_Why isn't everyone jumping up and accusing him? I knew there was something strange about him, but I couldn't figure it out until now..._

_She did it. It's so plain. No one would suspect her- They should..._

_Perfect. Everything's going perfectly..._

And the one thought that everyone shared: _Who will be next?_

"I've been meaning to ask." Everyone jumped when Akito broke the uneasy silence. "Have the Indian figures in all of your rooms been dissapearing?"

Almost at the same time, the other six asked, "What figures?"

Akito faltered for a minute but then explained, "There was a tray with ten little statues of Indians in my room. I assumed everyone had some... No? Well, when I woke up this morning there was only eight. And now, I was only wondering if that happened to anyone else."

"...Indians?" Hatori had the look of someone who just realized something important. "Like the poem?"

Akito shrugged. "I guess. It was on the mantel of the fireplace under the poem."

"So..." Hatori stayed calm, but was struggling at it. "Could it be _we're_ the Indians?" It was a sick thought, but made sense. As the realization swept over the room, everyone wore a general expression of disgust.

"I think we should see these statues," Shigure suggested.

--

"There's only seven now!" Akito had led the way to her room and, indeed, there were seven little Indian statues on a tray under the poem.

"So we were brought here to be the Indians in this poem?" Kyo asked, feeling a little sick to his stomach.

"I guess," Rin said quietly, looking at the poem. It all fit, the "choking," the "oversleeping," and Haru wasn't going to leave the island.

"Then why are these in my room?" Akito was frowning and went to pick up one of the figures. However, she stopped when a small voice spoke up from somewhere behind her.

"You're 'God.' You're in charge of the fate of the 'Indians.'" An awkward silence followed Tohru's statement, and she didn't look like she knew she had spoken out loud. When she realized everyone was staring at her, her face flushed and she stammered, "I-I-I mean-"

"Let's take these down to the kitchen so we can all keep a watch over them," Kyo suggested quickly, trying to distract Akito from Tohru. Isuzu, who was the closest to them besides Akito (She was staring at Tohru, her eyes narrowing dangerously) grabbed the tray and led the way out of the room.

Tohru tried hurrying away from Akito, but she grabbed her arm. Akito's fingernails dug into her arm hard enough for her to wince, and Tohru had no choice but to stop.

"Believe me, you haughty little bitch," Akito hissed into her ear, "if I was behind this, you'd already be dead."

--

**Chopping Up Sticks...**

The night fell too slowly for everyone's liking, but it finally came. The eight retired to their rooms without much talking. That night, everyone's sleep was blessedly calm.

Tohru yawned when she woke up, listening carefully for any screams, yells, or crying before she stepped out of bed. Thinking it was probably safe, she got dressed and went downstairs. She smiled when she saw Kyo, Hatori, Isuzu, and Shigure sitting in the living room. "So... No one died in the night?" She was almost afraid of hearing the answer, but if they were just sitting there normally, then probably no one did.

"I don't think so..." Kyo said with a shrug.

Shigure smiled, seeming in a good mood. "It's a good thing, too. I think the rain is letting up, and we might be able to signal for a boat when it does." He let out a laugh. "Maybe we should check the statues."

They walked into the dining room, feeling confident that there would still be seven Indians on the table, but they stopped short when they saw only six.

--

**One Chopped Himself In Halves...**

"Have any of you seen Kureno?" Akito stomped into the room, regarding them coolly. They shook their heads and Akito caught sight of the table, paling.

"Kureno!" She called suddenly, running back into the other room, and then with a gasp, outside.

The others followed her at the sound of Akito screaming. There was a pool of blood in front of the door, and Akito had stepped right into it. A trail of blood continued out into the woods, and they wordlessly followed it. It ended at the woodpile where Kureno lay, an axe sticking out of his chest.

"You!" Akito shrieked, turning on Tohru. "You did this! We argued, and then you killed him! You knew, I know you knew everything!" She lunged at Tohru, and Tohru let out a scream, trying to defend herself. But in her rage, Akito was stronger and wrestled her to the ground before Shigure could pull her off Tohru.

Akito started crying and sunk into Shigure's arms. "He said he wouldn't leave," she whispered. Shigure was pale and frowning, his cheery mood gone. Kyo helped Tohru up and she dusted herself off, looking like she was going to faint.

Rin's eyes were wide, and she said in a shaking voice, "Is anyone allergic to bees?"

**And Then There Were Six...**


	6. Six0Five Little Indians

I'm trying to move these along, because I'm going on vacation soon, so here's the next one... So I you'll get two death in this one. That's a bonus, right?... Or maybe that's not a good thing (haha).

--

**Six Little Indians...**

Akito was in a tearful rage. She was storming back to the house, alone and wanting to stay that way. She was angry- Oh, yes, she was angry. So angry that she was seeing seeing red- at that Honda bitch.

If Akito was to admit her true feelings to herself (which she wouldn't. She never would), she would know she was angry because she was afraid. She didn't think that Tohru was behind the killings, so she wasn't afraid at first. She knew none of her Zodiac would kill her, but if Tohru had killed Kureno- Out of whatever reason, revenge, or because she knew she could get away with a killing because someone was killing the others- There was no doubt that Akito could die. The girl probably thought she would be saving the Zodiac somehow, killing her and putting them out of their misery.

Akito shook her head and wiped at her eyes forcefully. She slammed open the door and stomped into the kitchen, sitting down at the table and burying her face in her arms.

No. There would be God. There would always be God. And Akito was not going to give up her position.

--

**Playing With A Hive...**

"I am," Hatori said suddenly in answer to Rin's question of who was allergic to bees. "So are Akito and-"

"Me," Shigure finished.

"Well, you three should probably watch out then," Rin said grimly.

"Going to kill us, Rin?" She couldn't tell if Shigure was joking or not.

"Of course not," she snapped. "The next line in the Indian poem is something about bees. Just a tip."

The rain was still falling steadily when Shigure and Hatori started to carry Kureno's body to the house.

"So much for the rain letting up," Shigure commented, not sounding too upset about Kureno's death.

Hatori was silent. He hadn't really heard Shigure, but probably wouldn't have responded if he did. He was too busy thinking. Who was to blame for this? If someone asked him, what would he say? Maybe nothing would be safest. The less suspicion the better.

Shigure took Hatori's silence as a hint to not talk, himself. He was thinking, too. Who was guilty beside Kureno? Hatori. Himself. Akito. Kyo. Rin. Tohru. Everyone could be guilty. One, of course, more guilty than the others. It was plain, how could the others not see it?

"Hey, Tohru." The three teens were lagging behind Hatori and Shigure. Rin was walking in step with Tohru and trying to figure out how it would be best to broach the subject on her mind.

"Yes, Isuzu-san?" Tohru looked at Isuzu almost gaurdedly, wondering if she was going to be accused again.

"Um..." Rin didn't usually say things like this. "Uh... Sorry... About earlier when I sort, um, implied that you might be the killer. I was just angry, and I'm angry, and-"

"It's alright," Tohru said, smiling. She gave Isuzu a hug (and was quickly pushed away) to save her from having anything else. They thought, and so did Kyo.

They could hardly suspect each other, they were all kids, but, even so, there were some ideas...

_She seems to have recovered from losing Haru pretty quickly. If she was so in love with him, how did she? Maybe because she... I could say that, if anyone asked. Maybe not if she asked..._

_He hasn't been affected at all. He would probably be smart enough to pull this off, for whatever reason he has. That's what I'll say if anyone wants to know who it was. Someone will ask, I know they will..._

_She thinks that killing him will make people suspect me, right? Or me suspect her less? It isn't working... I wonder if the others will be angry if I tell them..._

--

**A Bumblebee Stung One...**

"That's strange," Tohru said softly. It had been almost an hour since Kureno had been carried up to the house until Tohru realized that no one had eaten breakfast yet.

"What is?" Shigure asked, appearing behind her.

"Ah!- Oh, Shigure-san, it's only you." Tohru let out a sigh of relief and Shigure chuckled.

"Sorry to scare you, Tohru-kun."

"Oh, it's alright, you just surprised me. _That's _strange." Tohru pointed to the table where Akito was still sitting with her head in her arms. There was a jar of honey sitting on the table in front of her. "Has sh- Uh, he- been there this whole time?... And does he like eating honey?" When Shigure didn't answer, Tohru looked back at him. His face was quickly losing color. "Shigure-san...?"

Shigure walked past Tohru and over to Akito, tapping her on the shoulder and saying her name. "Akito? Akito? Oh, God. Tohru, go and get Hatori."

Tohru nodded quickly and ran from the room, unable to keep the thought out of her head that if Akito was dead- Was the blame blame going to shift to her?

**And Then There Were Five...**

--

**Five Little Indians...**

Akito was dead, Hatori confirmed it, but one question everyone wanted the answer to:

"W-Why the hell couldn't we tell he died?" Kyo was trying to keep his voice calm, but it was hard. The remaining five (_Only five left_, everyone thought in the back of their mind) were standing around Akito's bed. The scene was similar to the one that took place just the day before, except it was a lot less crowded.

"The bond is weakening," Rin said almost indifferently. She had hated Akito as much as she could hate God. She could have lied and said she was upset, but why bother. This was probably the best thing that had happened since Haru died. "That's what Shigure said anyway."

Shigure nodded slowly, his face carefully emotionless. "That must be it..."

"Well," Hatori said, tearing his eyes away from Akito's swollen face, which looked a lot like Ritsu's had after he suffocated, "Akito didn't die from a bee sting. He would have had an allergic reaction, but not killed. It looks like someone injected something-" He stopped, his expression remaining impassive, but his cheeks coloring slightly.

"And who would have the needles and drugs to do that?" Kyo said. All eyes turned to Hatori, and the doctor tried to defend himself, his composure slipping for the first time the whole trip.

"I-I didn't kill Akito, if that's what you're implying. You can check my medical bag. It's in my room; I haven't been up there since this morning."

"I think we should. Just to make sure you're telling the truth," Shigure said. As they left the room, he silently thought, _Not so calm when you're on the stand are you, Hatori._

--

**Going In For Law...**

"I keep them in here," Hatori said, holding out a small black box.

Shigure took it and opened it. There were two needles held in place with Styrofoam... But there was an indentation where a third could have been. "I don't think we have to check for the missing medicine. This looks like proof enough."

"I- That- I don't know why there's only two needles in there, but I haven't even _opened_ that bag since we came here. Someone else m-must have taken it. We were no where near each other for a whole hour today." He was really struggling to keep calm. No one had accused him before- He didn't think anyone had even suspected him.

The others seemed to be considering his words and finally Shigure said, "Maybe. So we don't have a mix-up like this again, though, I think we should all bring any weapons we may have brought out and put them somewhere safe."

"Who would have brought a weapon?" Rin asked.

"Me." It was hard to say whose answer was more surprising: Kyo's of Tohru's. Tohru's probably. They both scrambled to explain:

"I brought a pocketknife Shishou gave me. Is that a crime, or something?" Kyo demanded.

"I-I brought a knife my mom had when she was in a gang. After she left, she used it for cooking and then gave it to me when I started to. I only use it for special cooking, but thought it would come in handy if Terri-san wanted help cooking." Tohru was blushing, obviously embarassed about having a technical weapon when people were being killed.

"Should I go and get it?" They spoke at the same time again and Shigure nodded.

"Not at the same, though," he suggested. Tohru and Kyo looked at each other for a minute.

"I'll go first, I guess," Kyo said with a shrug.

--

**One Got In Chancery...**

Kyo shook his head as he headed back to his room. Tohru carrying a knife around with her- Who would have thought?

He pushed the door to his room open and fumbled for the light switch- The damn storm was making it so dark, even during the day. Finally his hand came in contact with the switch and he flicked it on, gasping when he took in the scene in front of him.

There was red splattered all over the room: On his bed, on the floor, and on the wall. When he caught sight of the wall he started trembling and shaking his head. How could anyone know? Who would know? The word Murderer was scrawled on the wall in the red stuff. Blood- It must have been blood. But whose? The answer came easily. His mother's, for one.

_She it wasn't an accident, it was suicide. You killed her. _And then a completely different voice ran through Kyo's head. _I'll never fogive you._

He didn't realize he was screaming until he felt someone shaking him. "Kyo! Get a hold of yourself!" He clamped his mouth shut and turned to see Rin holding on to his shoulders.

He shrugged her off and sank to the floor, still shaking. "Kyo-kun, are you alright?! He needs something to drink."

"I'll go and-" But Kyo cut Hatori off.

"No! I mean- I don't want anything." The unspoken phrase hung in the air: _From any of you._ He took a deep breath to compose himself and stood up shakily. "I'm fine," he tried to convince them without much conviction.

"Jeez, what happened to this room? There's paint everywhere. I thought you must have been-" Rin stopped suddenly and looked around. "Where's Shigure?"

A feeling of general doom settled over the four and they ran back to Akito's room. And they were right. He was laying on the ground next to Akito's bed. A large, hardback book was laying next to his head, which had a large bump on it, and the fake gold lettering on the cover read: Crime and Punishment: A Legal Look at Today's Justice System. Their eyes were drawn away from the book only because of something else that was glittering, but this time with blood.

A knife was laying next to the book, and on the handle was painted a red butterfly.

"Tohru, is that the knife you brought?" Kyo asked slowly, being able to recognize her mom's gang symbol immediately.

Tohru didn't move for long while. Barely able to breathe and trembling, she nodded slowly.

**And Then There Were Four...**

--

Yes, I had to have one of those Distraction and Death scenes. You'd better hurry and figure out who the killer is, because there are only going to be two or three more chapters! And they'll be coming out fast (hopefully). See you next time, thanks!


	7. Four Little Indians

Almost there! Sorry Tohru freaks out so much in this chapter, but, you know, she can only handle so much...

--

**Four Little Indians...**

"Tohru... Why is your knife laying next to Shigure's dead body?" Rin's voice was shaking a little as she asked, and everyone waited for Tohru's answer.

But Tohru didn't have one. Everyone was staring at her, they were expecting her to explain, but how could she? Shigure was dead, and her knife was clearly the murder weapon. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, and keep herself from crying, but one breath turned into another, and another, until she was hyperventilating. It was really hitting her now. Ten of them had come to the island. Four were left. Only one was going to leave, and it was too much to handle.

"Tohru, Tohru! Sit down, and someone get her something to drink." She shook her head like Kyo had done earlier, and struggled to stand, despite Hatori's efforts to make her sit. She couldn't take it anymore.

"N-No," Tohru gasped out, and spots started forming in front of her eyes. Faintly she wondered if she was dying, just like the six others had, before she passed out cold.

--

"God, Tohru, are you okay?" Isuzu was bending over Tohru when she opened her eyes. She let out an almost inaudible sigh of relief, for a minute she thought Tohru was dead. "You had a panic attack back there."

"Nn..." Tohru groaned and tried to sit up, but winced, put a hand to her head, and sank back instead. "Where... Where are we?" She had a fleeting, hopeful thought that everything so far was just a bad dream. Maybe...

"We're downstairs in the living room. Do you want some water? I understand if you don't want to trust me, but..." Rin saw Tohru's face fall and she shook her head slowly.

"I'm fine, really." Tohru attempted to sit up again, and succeeded this time. "Where are Hatori-san and Kyo-kun?" She fought to keep the subject from moving back to the knife. She didn't want to try and think up an explanation no one would believe anyway.

"They're making lunch... Or dinner. I'm not really sure what time it is. Well, Kyo's cooking. I think Hatori's just..." Rin didn't know how to say this without it sounding horrible. She finally decided on, "Just keeping watch."

Tohru nodded, understanding. Of course no one was going to be left alone now. She stood up and looked in the direction of the kitchen, almost expecting someone to run out saying another person was dead. "Should we go and see if they need help?"

Rin shrugged and said, "I guess, but I have to use the bathroom first." She didn't need to say anything else to make it plain that Tohru had to walk with her. Neither of them really suspected the other, but they couldn't let each other out of their sight, just in case.

Tohru stood awkwardly outside of the bathroom door, wondering if she should be talking to let Isuzu know she was still there, when a movement out of the corner of her eye made her spin around. They were standing outside of Akito's room and the door was ajar (had it been like that a moment ago?). It was probably nothing, but Tohru couldn't help but open the door to check.

At first, nothing seemed wrong. Just an bedroom. The knife was still laying in the middle of the floor (something compelled Tohru to pick it up, so she did. The blade was retractable, so it wasn't very noticable in the pocket of her skirt.)... But there was something wrong. Very wrong.

"Isuzu-san! Kyo-kun! Hatori-san!" Tohru yelled the others' names as loud as she could, trying not to have a panic attack again. _Was she in the room with her? Was she going to be murdered?_

"What?! What's wrong?!" Somehow everyone had heard her, and they all rushed into the room, Isuzu first, but closely followed by Kyo and Hatori.

"Aki... Akito isn't..." She raised her arm and pointed to Akito's empty bed.

--

**Going Out To Sea...**

The four had decided it was safest to be outside in the open for the time being. They were at the edge of a cliff so Akito could only come at them from one direction. With Akito roaming around, it was almost a sure thing that she was lying in wait somewhere in the house, and if they were out in the open they would be able to see her coming.

"He faked his death?" Kyo asked, frowning and looking out to sea. The rain had stopped, but storm clouds were still gathered as far as the eye could see. "Just to trick us?"

Tohru and Rin shook their heads, just as confused as Kyo was.

"I'll go back to the house and look for her," Hatori said suddenly. "I'm sure I'd be able to take on Akito if he tried to attack me, and I wouldn't want you three to be in any more danger than you have to be." It was impossible to try and read Hatori's face to figure out what he was thinking- If there was something more to his words or not, so they just agreed and watched him walk back to the mansion.

--

**A Red Herring Swallowed One...**

Rin, Kyo, and Tohru sat quietly, all feeling embarrassed about suspecting the others now that they knew Akito had faked her death and was wandering around.

"I wish a boat would come," Kyo said, breaking the silence after about five minutes.

"Well, yeah," Rin said, rolling her eyes, "we all do. How many of us want to be stuck here with-" She, but the possible ending swirled around the air. With a killer. With six- no, five- dead bodies.

Suddenly, Kyo and Rin looked at each other and began to laugh. It wasn't a sadistic, maniacal laugh like Kyo had laughed when Yuki died. In fact, it wasn't forced, sarcastic, or even a sad what-a-pathetic-situation-we're-in laugh. It was long, loud, and undeniably real. Tohru watched them apprehensively, silently wondering if they had lost their minds.

"The Curse," Rin gasped out between laughs (The first time she'd laughed since coming onto the horrible Indian Island). "It's broken!"

"Broken?" Tohru's apprehension turned into happiness. She smiled when Kyo nodded along with what Isuzu had said.

Rin jumped up and did a quick turn on the spot. All of the amazing feeling inside of her was stopping her from worrying about how she looked (ridiculous) in front of the others "I've never felt like this! It's great- Like- Like I'm free!" What she had been trying so desperately to accomplish had happened effortlessly. She felt like this giddy feeling was never going to disappear.

But the happiness wouldn't last. Not even for five minutes.

Rin almost skipped over to the edge of the cliff to look down at the water, she wouldn't have been surprised to see a boat down there, with the way things were going. That crazy thought was going through her mind as she stopped at the edge- Or, tried to stop. Her legs stopped moving, but Rin felt herself lose her footing, sway for one, long moment, and topple over the side off the cliff. She didn't even have time to scream.

"Isuzu-san!" Tohru screamed in horror, trying to run to the edge of the cliff, herself. Kyo had just seen Rin fall to what he presumed was her death, and wasn't about to let Tohru do the same. He wrapped his arms around her to hold her back and...

Disappeared in a cloud of smoke, only to reappear as a cat a second later. Tohru stared at him for a minute abd collapsed, sobbing.

The Curse wasn't broken.

A Red Herring.

**And Then There Were Three...**


	8. Three0Two0One Little Indians

Alright, here it is. Last chapter before the epilogue. I was thinking about making it two more and the epilouge so it would be exactly ten chapters, but didn't have enough material to stretch it out...

--

**Three Little Indians...**

"Isu... Isuzu-san," Tohru sobbed quietly, trying to get control of herself. Sure, her friend was dead, but the killer (or was it an accident?- It couldn't have been.) was still roaming around, and was going to try and kill her, Kyo, and-

"H-Hatori-san!" Tohru just remembered that he was at the house by himself. How could they have let him go. There was no doubt that if Akito was crazy enough to try and kill nine people, then she probably had a gun, or some other weapon. She had probably thought about having to subdue someone bigger than her if she was smart enough to pull off all of the murders so far. "He's up at the house by himself. Akito-san must be there, too."

Kyo had already changed back into a human, and put his clothes back on, and now looked back toward the house. He couldn't figure out what had happened about the curse. It had broken, he had felt it, but then-

He realized that Tohru was talking about Hatori. He had been thinking about it, too, and was wondering if they should even go looking for him. "Tohru, don't you think... Maybe... Hatori might be working _with _Akito?"

"What?" Apparently she hadn't been thinking that.

"Well, he's the one who had the idea of coming out here by the cliff, and he just left us her to fend for ourselves. He might have planned it with Akito? It might be a bad idea to go back inside the house."

Tohru was silent for a minute, considering what Kyo said, then, looking a little embarassed, said, "I still think maybe we should go look. And... If they do try to attack us or something, I have this." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the knife she had picked up earlier, pushing the small button under the butterfly that released the blade. "I... Um... saw it on the ground and thought it might be useful later."

--

**Walking In The Zoo...**

With some protection in hand, Tohru and Kyo set out on the relatively long walk back to the house. Tohru had insisted that Kyo hold the knife, because he would no doubt be better at using it. Both of their hearts started beating faster when they climbed up the steps to the front door, and Kyo's hand was sweating while he turned the door knob.

The inside of the house was dark and quiet. The two exchanged glances, but didn't say a word. They crept as quietly as they could through the hall and went into the first room they came across, the sitting room.

It was clear from the gruesome scene inside that Hatori was not working with Akito... At least, not anymore.

--

**A Big Bear Hugged One...**

Neither Tohru nor Kyo screamed, or even made a sound. The looked at each other and wordlessly communicated the thought to each other to run. And fast. Both of them turned and dashed, as quietly as they could, out the door and back outside.

They finally stopped and collapsed to the ground after they had reached the beach they landed on the first day.

Panting, Tohru said, "A big b-bear hugged one."

Kyo nodded, also out of breath, and added, "We've been... In the zoo all along."

Hatori had been run through with a fire poker. They ran from the scene as fast as they could, but not fast enough to miss the statue of a bear that served as the poker's handle.

**Then There Were Two...**

--

**Two Little Indians...**

That was it. They were the last two. If part of Akito's plan was to drive them insane, it was working. Kyo had been pacing up and down the length of the sand for a good half hour, looking out for any sign of a boat. Tohru was standing and watching behind them, in case Akito tried to sneak an attack.

The knife lay in the sand, forgotten.

The suspense was almost unbearable. Kyo almost wished that he would just hurry up and show himself, just to end all of the waiting. Then, after a confrontation, it would all be over, or he and Tohru would be safe.

"Hey, what's that?" Tohru jumped when she heard Kyo's voice, she had almost forgotten he was there. Her mind was concentrated on what she would do she saw Akito coming. A scenario where Akito had a gun was just flashing through her mind (she had decided she and Kyo would have no chance then) when she heard Kyo.

Tohru stood next to him and looked out at the sea. Kyo pointed to something a short ways out, in shallow water, but too far too see clearly. It looked like a log or some other driftwood at first, but when they looked for longer, it was plainly a person. Black hair sent the thought of Rin through their mind, and Tohru said quietly, "It would be horrible to leave her out there."

Kyo nodded and they started wading out toward the body, intent on pulling it back to the shore. But when they reached they body, it was defiantly not Rin. The hair was too short, she was wearing a kimono, but this body looked like it had been in the water for the same amount of time. Too long to have killed Hatori and then fallen in.

It was Akito.

--

**Sitting In The Sun...**

"You?" They asked at the same time, slowly looking away from the body and into each others eyes. Kyo and Tohru jumped away from each other, still staring into one another's eyes.

"How did you manage to to kill Hatori?" Kyo said, starting to walk back to the shore- He had just remembered the knife- while Tohru asked:

"Were you working with someone else?" Is that how he came up with the story about Hatori and Akito working together?

How could they have not seen it before? The signs were so clear, at least, now they seemed to be. Tohru followed Kyo carefully, seeing what he (could he even be considered a he now? That implied humanity, and a person who killed his whole family was more of a monster, wasn't he?) was doing and was trying to figure out how she could stop him.

Kyo could see the knife's blade glittering out of the corner of his eye- He was almost there, but he had to keep Tohru distracted. "So... You cooked up some story about Akito being gone, and threw him into the water thinking no one would find the body?"

"You're asking me?" Tohru asked, sounding genuinely surprised. But Kyo couldn't trust that any more. The couldn't trust _her_ any more.

Neither one of them would have believed the other would do something like this... But with the proof right in front of them, it was impossible not to.

Kyo felt the water receding from him and knew if he just turned around and took a few big steps he could get to the knife before Tohru did. The whole idea of what he was doing was making him feel queasy (he tried to tell himself he had to be prepared to do anything), but he did it. He turned around, grabbed the knife, and held it out at arm's length, pointing at Tohru.

"K-Kyo-kun," She stammered, "put th-that down... Please," she added as an afterthought. She tried to edge around him so she could run, but Kyo, thinking she was trying to get at his back, stepped in front of her.

Tohru stopped, and realized she was going to have to get the knife away from him if she wanted to live. She didn't know if would be able to (in fact, she was fairly certain she wouldn't be able to) win against Kyo in a fight, but she was desperate. Hoping to distract him, Tohru acted like she was moving to the left, but then lunged at him instead.

And then...

--

**One Got Frizzled Up...**

Kyo looked down at Tohru, horrified at what he had just done. The knife was sticking out of Tohru's throat- He had reacted on instinct when she jumped at him, and she never had a chance. Blood was running down her neck and into the oncoming waves, and her eyes were glazing over. She had been a murdered (_She _must_ have been_, he thought), but he never thought he would have to kill kind, gentle (maybe not actually either of those) Tohru. It was enough to make him sick.

So, still unable to tear his eyes away from her, he doubled over and was.

**And Then There Was One...**

--

**One Little Indian...**

Kyo staggered back toward the house, wiping his mouth and eyes (under normal circumstances he would have tried to convince himself he wasn't crying, but what was normal? He couldn't help but cry right now) and feeling rediculously light-headed. One thought was slowly creeping into his mind. It overpowered the thought of being a murderer (_To protect yourself_, the still-rational part of his brain tried to convince him), and the thought that he was the only living thing left on the island.

Kyo was alive. He was safe. He was... Overpoweringly tired. He hadn't eaten since... When? That morning? The day before? It didn't really matter though, all that did was that he was totally and utterly alone.

--

**Left All Alone...**

Back in the house, Kyo had the absurd thought that he should look at the Indian figures. Tohru wouldn't have had a chance to get rid of Hatori's statue, and she definitely couldn't have gotten rid of her own. Picking up the two (something had happened to the third, but Kyo didn't have the energy to question it) remaining Indians, he tossed one to the ground and, after hearing it shatter, left the room with the other.

Kyo walked through the sitting room toward the stairs, not bothering to wonder where Hatori's body had gone, and kept the thought of sleep in his mind. However, other thoughts kept getting in the way.

_You've killed everyone who ever meant anything to you._

_Wouldn't it have been better if you died instead?_

No matter absurd it was, however, those thoughts didn't mean anything at that point.

He wanted to sleep...

--

**He Went And Hanged Himself...**

Kyo trudged up the seemingly endless stairs, his eyes already drooping while he imagined the nice, large bed that was waiting in his room. He turned left at the top of the stairs and... Stopped.

What was that? Who had put it there? Maybe...

His mother.

Kyoko.

Tohru.

It was fitting, of course. Why should Kyo live, when everyone else had died (Had he killed them? No, not everyone, but some. One on the island, but that wasn't all there was, was there?)? How hadn't he noticed that big black hook before? After taking in the chair, and the noose hanging above it, the hook was all he could look at.

And he kept looking at it, thoughts running through his mind while he climbed on the chair.

It felt like a dream.

He deserved this, didn't he?

This was his fate- Death, he meant. Dying alone.

Kyo put the noose around his neck, effortlessly kicking away the chair.

The last thing he was aware of was the sound of the final Indian breaking as it hit the floor.

**And Then There Were None.**


	9. Epilogue

First, before we finish this up, I need to thank all of you readers. You are really awesome, and without you all I would have had no motivation to finish. Haha, I'll stop sounding lame and get to the morbid revealing of the murderer! I was really surprised that someone got almost the exact right situation, so, Hiro Sohma- You get a virtual cookie and 2000 points!

--

**...One Little Indian...?**

A figure stepped out from behind a closed bedroom door, and looked at Kyo dispassionately. He picked up the chair, brought it back into Kyo's room, put it in front of a desk, sat down and began to write on preplaced paper with a preplaced pen...

--

To Whom It May Concern,

I should have been an actor. No matter how full of myself that sounds, it is too true. I've been, in a sense, acting my whole life. Acting like I care about anyone other than myself. Acting like I wouldn't harm whoever I had to in order to get what I want. But, still, the life of the word mason was the one for me. Although, I wouldn't have made a bad playwright, either.

Before I let you in on why I committed this perfectly executed plan, let me tell you _how_.

Luring everyone to the island wasn't very hard in itself. I just sent the letters to everyone, knowing- Because it was a busy time for Ayame, and Kagura was taking summer classes- that I would get exactly ten people at the island. No one questioned the invitations, because the Sohma have many servants and who were any of them to think that the "Miss Terri" I invented was just that: Invented.

I already had the murders planned out from the beginning. Ritsu was by far the easiest to kill off. I made a tape accusing everyone of being monsters, but that was just a distraction while I slipped the poison (stolen from Hatori's bag earlier) into his drink. Ritsu was always threatening to kill himself. Everyone just passed it off as suicide.

Yuki was also relatively easy. I knew Haru or Tohru would remind him to take his asthma medicine, and I had already switched it with sleeping pills before we even left the house. He was too upset about Ritsu to notice.

Haru was next. He was crushed when Yuki died, and so it was easy to sneak up on him when Rin so thoughtfully left him all alone. My alibi for the time of his murder was that I was searching the basement for our mystery host. Suspicious were being aroused at this point and I convinced Akito and Hatori that we could all work together to uncover who the real murderer was.

Kureno was an easy target. He's so niave that when I asked him to come talk to me early in the morning before everyone woke up, he didn't suspect a thing. I was waiting with the axe, and dragged him to the woodpile after he was dead.

Next, Akito's death was staged. She's allergic to bees and honey, so we agreed she would eat some honey to make her face swell. It made her look awful, but she was perfectly fine. We were in her room speculating when I suggested that everyone bring forth any weapons they had.

It simplified things that Kyo went to get his knife first, because it saved time for having to pretend to search for Tohru's knife she brought for cooking. I had, in fact, stolen it earlier that day. That morning, after killing Kureno, but before he was discovered, I painted the word "Murderer" on Kyo's walls. I knew he blamed himself for his mother's suicide, and when he saw the words, his meltdown was a nice distraction while I cut my own chest to get blood on my clothes and had Akito knock me out with a law book, for effect.

Tensions were running high by then, and all I had to do was put some oil on the edge of a cliff to make it slippery and lure the teens out. I convince Akito to meet me at the cliff overlooking the beach, and when one of them discovered Akito's empty bed, Hatori took them out to the cliff (he had no idea I had oiled it down) and made and excuse to go back inside to wait for me.

I should take time out to explain why I did everything. I did this for the power. For the beautiful feeling I once told Hatori I would do anything, hurt anyone, to hang on to. To hang on to the feeling of the Curse. When I was a young boy I heard Akira's maids talking about how "enlightened" Akira was about the Curse, how he was the most knowledgeable God so far. He apparently knew how to transfer the position of God to other Zodiac, and how to break the Curse of a Zodiac only to be able to mend it if it was done quick enough. I threatened to drop Akito over the side of the cliff if she didn't transfer th power to me, and when she did I dropped her anyway.

However, being God felt no different from being the Dog. I figured that if I did a good job of strengthening the bond again, then the feeling would intensify. I continued by breaking the Kyo's and Rin's Curse, just to mend it again. Rin, however, was so happy she fell right off the cliff. I knew one of them would.

Hatori was waiting for me, and I stabbed him with the bear fire poker, to stay true to the rhyme. Then I watched the rest unfold. Kyo was quicker, stronger, and more courageous than Tohru, so she had no chance one they were blaming each other. Luckily they had the knife from earlier handy. He was so torn apart by guilt that he hung himself without hesitation where I had it set up for him.

You're probably wondering why I stuck so closely to the Indian rhyme. I remember it as interesting when I was younger, and I had never committed a large (or any) murder, so I thought it would be best to have something to follow.

And, while this Curse business means nothing to anyone who isn't a Sohma, it's vital in my explanation. You may be reading this and thinking, _Why is he confessing? He has everything he wanted, right?_ You would be correct, but I couldn't walk of the island and get away without at least a long, drawn out investigation, and, as a novelist, I like clean, wrapped up endings.

So I plan to put this in the back garden with a rock over it to keep it in place, and hang myself from the tree above it. I should be the last thing anyone finds when they finally come to the island. The Curse doesn't really upset me, being unloved by my parents never really upset me, killing nine people didn't really upset me, and the thought of myself being dead isn't really upsetting.

I guess I really am Twisted.

In Life And In Death,

Shigure Sohma

**And _Then_**** There Were None.**

--

Yep. I made up that Akira stuff, obviously. But I really think Shigure would do this for something he wanted. In short, he became God to hold onto that feeling he had when Akito was first conceived (volume 2), but it wasn't as good as he thought it would be and to avoid a mess he killed himself. In case I didn't make it clear enough. Thanks for reading, and be on the lookout for me, my next fic won't be quite as dark (and go to my profile to vote on what the next one should be!).


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